Fans of folding phones will find plenty to like about Motorola's latest hardware, the Razr+ and Razr. These updated flip phones share more design elements and pack better specs across the board. Motorola hosted PCMag in New York City to get an early look at the Razr+ and Razr, which go on sale next month. Read on to find out what we think.
A Sharper Flip
This year's Motorola Razr+ and Razr look sharper but are actually smoother and softer to hold. The phones are nearly identical to their predecessors in terms of size, but the shaping is a little different. They measure 3.48 by 2.91 by 0.59 inches closed and 6.50 by 2.91 by 0.28 inches open and weigh 6.67 ounces. I found them to be comfortably compact when closed though somewhat large when opened. (Think Galaxy S24 Ultra-sized.)
(Credit: Eric Zeman)The aluminum frame of each phone is a bit more curved all the way around, creating a more seamless profile. The changes may be small, but they make a big difference. Corning Gorilla Glass Victus covers the front of both phones while the rear is covered by vegan leather or vegan suede (depending on the color). Motorola says these materials should last the lifetime of the phone with minimal wear. Each has a pleasing texture and gives the phone plenty of grip. Motorola says most users should be able to use the phones without a case. The Razr+ comes in Midnight Blue, Spring Green, Peach Fuzz, and Hot Pink. The Razr comes in Beach Sand, Koala Grey, and Spritz Orange. I am partial to the green one.
(Credit: Eric Zeman)A brand-new hinge connects the two halves of the phone. Motorola claims it has reduced the size of the hinge while increasing its strength, lifespan, and ability to withstand dust and dirt. Most importantly, both phones now enjoy a durability rating of IPX8 for protection from water. This means they can sit in 1.5 meters of fresh water for up to 30 minutes. Last year's Razr phones were limited to just splash protection with an IP52 rating. The Razr+, in particular, needed this upgrade to better compete with the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5, which is also waterproof. The hinge feels really good. Notably, the phone is much easier to open and close with one hand.
There are no surprises with the outer controls and ports. The right edge houses a power button and two separate volume keys. All three of these are a bit thin and sharp for my tastes, but they stick out quite a bit and are easy to find and use, and have good travel and feedback. The SIM tray is tucked into the left edge of the phone. eSIM is supported, too. The USB-C port is centered on the bottom edge.
Bigger, Better Outer Screens
One of the joys of the modern flip phone is that you can interact with the outer screen to manage incoming notifications, check the time, and more. Motorola has expanded the outer screens of both Razr phones so you can do even more than before.
The outer pOLED screen of the Razr+ now measures 4.0 inches from top to bottom. It carries 1,272 by 1,080 pixels with a density of 417ppi. The screen supports HDR10+, 120% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, supports a refresh rate up to 165Hz, and pushes 2,400 nits. Its touch response rate measures 120Hz in normal use and 165Hz when gaming. The inner screen covers the same 6.9-inch diagonal as before with 2,640 by 1,080 pixels at 413ppi. The LTPO screen supports HDR10+, 10-bit, and DCI-P3 color, and refreshes at a rate up to 165Hz. The touch sampling rate varies between 240Hz and 360Hz when gaming. It's a good screen, though the crease is still visible in the center.
(Credit: Eric Zeman)The outer display of the standard Razr graduates from a small strip to a full-fledged screen. It measures 3.6 inches top to bottom with 1,056 by 1,066 pixels at 413ppi. It has a refresh rate up to 90Hz, a touch rate up to 120Hz, and a peak brightness of 1,700 nits. The Razr's inner screen matches that of the pricier Razr+ feature for feature, including the same peak brightness of 3,000 nits.
(Credit: Eric Zeman)More important than these specs, however, is what you can do with these outer displays. Each offers up to nine separate panels for widgets and apps so you can check the time, weather, and scores as well as respond to messages and take selfies.
(Credit: Eric Zeman)In person, the screens look excellent. The brightness and clarity of the outer screens allow for easy visibility even under bright light. The inner screen is a bit tall and narrow, making the Razrs two-handed devices, but that is unchanged year over year.
Solid Specs
There's more to the Motorola Razr+ than refined looks and bigger screens. The phones are chock full of processors, memory modules, storage, and more.
The pricer Razr+ runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 processor with 12GB of LPDDR5x RAM and 256GB of UFS 4.0 storage. Though this chip isn't as fast as the 8 Gen 3, Motorola says it has the chops it needs to provide balanced performance. The Razr runs on a MediaTek Dimensity 7300x processor with 8GB of LPDDR4x RAM and 256GB of UFS 2.2 storage. This chip is a more budget-minded engine for the less-costly phone.
(Credit: Eric Zeman)Using the phones in person for about an hour, I didn't notice any speed issues with either device. Both phones loaded apps quickly, transitioned between screens smoothly, and fired up the camera in short order. We'll have to perform benchmarking tests to get a real idea of the difference between them.
As for the batteries, the Razr+ upgrades from a 3,800mAh cell in the 2023 model to a larger 4,000mAh cell this year. It supports rapid 45W wired charging and quick 15W wireless charging, with 5W reverse wireless charging also on board. Motorola didn't say how quickly it will be able to recharge the phone, but it should be pretty quick. Sadly, the charger is not in the box. The Razr has the same 4,000mAh battery as last year's model and it charges at 33W wired and 15W wireless. There's no reverse wireless charging for the Razr.
The connectivity suites are mostly modern. Both phones support sub-6GHz 5G only with C-band but not mmWave. The Razr+ has Wi-Fi 7 while the Razr has Wi-Fi 6E. Both phones have Bluetooth 5.4, NFC, and GPS. Sadly, the USB-C ports are limited to USB 2.0.
(Credit: Eric Zeman)Rounding out the specs, let's discuss the cameras. The Razr+ has a 50MP main camera at f/1.7 with optical image stabilization and a 50MP telephoto camera at f/2.0 with 2x optical zoom. This is a changeup from the 2023 model, which had an ultra-wide shooter instead of the telephoto. The selfie camera takes 32MP shots at f/2.4 All three cameras rely on pixel binning with resulting images at 13MP, 13MP, and 8MP, respectively. Video capture runs up to 4K60 with 1080p slow motion available all the way up to 960fps.
The Razr dials things back just a bit. It has the same main camera and the same selfie camera, but the second rear camera is a 13MP ultra-wide shooter at f/2.2. The Razr can also shoot 4K60 video, but slow-motion speeds aren't as dramatic.
(Credit: Eric Zeman)Camera features are plentiful. The most interesting is the camcorder mode, which lets you shoot like you're holding an old-school camcorder by folding the phone in half. You can capture portrait or landscape video this way.
AI for All
The Motorola Razr+ and Razr ship with Android 14 and will receive three years of OS upgrades and four years of security patches. That's not bad, but it doesn't match the seven-year promises of Google and Samsung. (We'll point out here that last year's Moto Razr has yet to receive the Android 14 update even though the OS has been available for nearly a year.)
Motorola is bringing Moto AI to both phones, which will include features we've seen from Google. For example, both will support Gemini Nano at some point after launch. Generative AI will be available for creating custom wallpapers, while deep integration with the voice recorder and contacts/calendar will allow for personalized search results and actions. Motorola says that asking the Razr to "pay attention" will automatically fire up the voice recorder and provide detailed notes as well as a summary of the conversation. Similarly, asking the phone to "remember this" will have it turn on the camera and record video or record the screen, which will then be saved for later call-back. These features will be rolled out several months after launch.
Motorola also made sure to explain that AI will help the phones' cameras take better photos. It didn't get into specifics, but you can expect better HDR, better color, less noise, and sharper shots. The company stopped short of saying the phones will have access to the AI features of Google Photos, such as Magic Eraser. Some of the features include adaptive stabilization, which will turn on automatically if it senses the phone moving too much while capturing video.
Arriving In July
The Razr+ will be available for pre-order at AT&T, T-Mobile, Amazon, Best Buy, and Motorola.com starting July 10 and will reach stores July 24. The Razr will also be available for pre-order July 10, though only from T-Mobile. It will reach a broad array of retail and carrier outlets on July 24. The pricing for each phone matches the cost of last year's models. That means the Razr+ costs $999.99, and the Razr costs $699.99.
Be sure to check back for full reviews soon.